1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a retail sales management system for use when products are sold via a communication network.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Electronic commerce, involving the retail sales of products and the contracting out of services using communication networks, such as the Internet, has become a popular and wide spread addition to the retail sales business field. An intending purchaser, when availing himself or herself of the conveniences afforded by electronic commerce, generally selects a desired product, or a service, by referring to products for sale, or services to be provided, that are listed on a computer screen, enters his or her name, address and telephone number, along with a payment method, and transmits these data to a retailer. This is all that is required of the purchaser; all other procedures associated with a purchase are handled by the retailer.
The price for a product or the charge for a service is generally set by a retailer. At this time, the retail price is normally determined by adding a profit margin to the actual expenses involved in the manufacture of a product, or in the provision of a service. Further, when determining a price, the popularity a product enjoys among users, and user product evaluations may be taken into account.
There are retailing methods, such as auction sales, where buyers take the initiative in setting prices. In such a case, however, since the buyers compete with each other and bid up the price of a product, the final price paid may far exceed that which most consumers would regard as appropriate. And since an auction sale is more appropriate when the number of intending purchasers exceeds the available supply of a product, it is not suitable for general trading.
According to one method whereby the retail price of a product is dynamically established, for a product such as a computer program, the employment frequency (the number of activations, or the employment period) is recorded and measured, and when a predetermined value is reached, the payment of a charge is requested. According to another method, when a specific time has elapsed following the start of a sale, the retail prices of some subject products are reduced. However, these retailing methods do not immediately and directly reflect an evaluation such as is acquired when a product has been tested on the market and has been compared with other, similar products. During the exchange of data across a communication network, user evaluations of content to be provided may be fed back to an intending purchaser. For example, the number of times the content was accessed, or a user evaluation may be supplied as a reference item to facilitate the selection of content. Or, the content may be ranked in accordance with its evaluation or employment frequency, and thereafter presented to an intending purchaser.
However, content evaluation is merely provided as reference matter to be considered when a choice is made, and is not used as a basis for the setting of a price for a product (content).
As is described above, according to the conventional retail sales method, when a retailer sets a price for a product or a charge for a service, a value attributable the popularity of the product or the service with users, and how they evaluate it may be added to the price. However, when the popularity of a product or service or the user evaluation of it fluctuates over time, a great deal of labor must be devoted to immediately, and frequently, changing the retail price to reflect marketing realities.
However, if a price is set each time there is a variation in the popularity or in the user evaluation of a product or service, a lower price can be set for an unpopular product or service to increase its marketing competitiveness, or a higher price can be set for a popular product or service to increase the net profit.
Further, conventionally, when a retailer sets a retail price while taking into account the popularity or the evaluation of a product or a service, only the current popularity or evaluation are taken into consideration when the price is selected. However, if along with an altered retail price information were provided concerning trends affecting price changes (e.g., how the price will subsequently be changed), such information would assist a user in appropriately timing the purchase of a product or the selection of a service.
As is described above, according to the conventional method for dynamically setting the retail price of a product, the price of a frequently employed product is increased and the price of a less frequently employed product is reduced. But the conventional method can not flexibly assign a new retail price consonant with a change in the popularity or in the overall user evaluation of a product or a service.
It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide a retail sales management system that, consonant with the level of popularity or the user evaluation of a product or service, dynamically sets a retail price for a product or a charge for a service.